Amazon vs Walmart : Whose search UX is more usable?
Learning from two established leaders in e-commerce domain
At its most basic, the role of the search engine results is to present items matching a given query. However, behind this simple brief, resides a layer of depth and complexity. There are lot more thinking and experimenting involved in making the search process worthy and engaging for the users. And all the more when we are talking about an industry such as the e-commerce industry.
E-commerce industry has always been an interesting field for me as it always has something to teach you about UX! I picked up Amazon and Walmart, two established leaders in the e-commerce domain to understand how each one is different from the other in terms of “search”. I planned a quick usability test around the two websites.
Introduction to Amazon
Amazon is a one stop e-commerce website to browse, search, get product details, read reviews and purchase millions of products available from Amazon.com and other merchants.
Introduction to Walmart
Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2014.
Objective of the test
Identify the point of difference in the searching on Amazon and Walmart. Understanding which is more usable for the user.
How crucial is good search UX for e-commerce?
“Search is like a conversation, it’s a bidirectional process between the user and system. It can be very rich as a real human conversation.”
I read these words in an article by Luca Longo. And these words makes so much sense, isn’t it? When we are at local storefronts we would never face an issue of not finding a stuff in the store, because we have a human to communicate with.
The search on the e-commerce sites should be equally efficient so as to give that bit of customer delight to the visitors.
User research
User persona
Prior to conducting usability tests, I developed a user persona to better understand the target users of Amazon’s and Walmart’s websites. This process helped me get into the mindset of the users, thinking in terms of their contexts, needs, and goals
So meet Marli!
Platform used for experiment
I have used the CanvasFlip online tool for creating the prototypes and for UX insights such as session replay (the user videos). conversion funnel and heat maps.
Number of users in the test
I prepared a list of 10 users. Picked up 5 randomly for Amazon and the other 5 for Walmart. Usually I go with an extensive list of users but this usability test demanded for more of an individual analysis of users rather than a cumulative result of huge number of users.
Task given to users
“Add to cart an iPad for yourself! You only have a total of $550. Buy the best one you can, for the price in terms of functionality and features.”
Usability Analysis
Before getting started with the analysis, try out the prototypes on which the tests were performed
While searching a product on an e-commerce website, there are few factors that play a very crucial role -
- Placement of the Search bar
- Presenting the search result
- Position of the filter and filtering parameters
So, based on these 3 factors, I analysed the usability data.
- Placement of the search bar
While searching for a product, a user quickly scans the entire screen to find a writable search box. The goal of a good design is to have a search bar which is clearly visible and quickly recognizable.
For both Amazon and Walmart, the experts in the domain have big stretched out search boxes right at the top of the screen
To best way to figure out if the search box is prominent for the user or not is to check out its heat map.
The heat map clearly shows that users have easily spotted the search bar. The heat map also confirms that the primary method of searching for a product is the search bar. Searching a product through a search bar is the fastest route to discovering a product.
2. Presenting the search results
The basic aim of searching is to ensure that the search results are useful. The search results should be displayed in a way that helps user take quick decision as to which one he should open and check.
The individual section displays the price, availability of the product, other buying choices and rating.
Walmart on the other hand has a different approach to this. The first fold has a clear comparison of similar products.
The first fold shows a comparison of important features related to the options in iPad. They do not miss on the call to action — “Shop Now”!
The every next fold starts showing individual products with information on each section — the price( big and bold) , the saving(in red), rating, colors available and a short section on the right listing the features. It also mentions the free shipping availability.
One might argue that Walmart is overwhelming users with information at once. But, as it turns out users found it useful. If you watch this session replay of 2 users, one using Amazon and one using Walmart, we can see a distinct difference in the pattern of using.
Searching pattern on Amazon —
The user searching on Amazon, opens more tabs to find the exact product he desires. Also, he spends more time on each of these individual screens. He re-visits screens to compare the features.
Searching pattern on Walmart—
The user searching on Walmart, is spending comparatively more time on the search results screen where he can compare the features by scrolling. He opens lesser tabs that are useful for him.
Clearly, Walmart has a better way to represent the search results.
3. Position of the filter
In Amazon,
Amazon has a list of filters on the left hand side of the screen, but as it turns out not many users has utilized the filter option. It could be because of various reasons -
- They did not really find the apt filter to be used
- They position is not commanding enough
In Walmart,
On the contrary, you do find a good interaction on the filter/refine parameters. Walmart has very wisely put up 3 most used filters on the top. We also find a relatively decent interaction on the left hand side filters. This is a bit shocking after observing the user’s behavior on Amazon filters. Maybe the parameter — model name and price did the magic.
Comparison of Amazon vs Walmart
Over to you
What do you think about the searching and filter mechanism of Amazon and Walmart? We’d love to know your thoughts. Use the comments section below.
P.S. — If you liked the user experience data used in this experiment, give CanvasFlip a shot and try the same on your app!
